Network connection configuration method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

This application provides a network connection configuration method and an apparatus. The method is as follows: After a terminal device obtains network configuration information of an application in the terminal device, the terminal device sends the network configuration information to a core network control plane network element, so that the core network control plane network element may determine a network connection that is of the application and is between the terminal device and the data network and that meets the network configuration information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/239,548, filed on Jan. 4, 2019, which is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2016/088943, filed on Jul. 6, 2016,All of the afore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the field of communications technologies,and in particular, to a network connection configuration method and anapparatus.

BACKGROUND

A mobile communications network includes two parts: an access networkand a core network. The access network is an edge part of the mobilecommunications network, and is responsible for connecting a terminaldevice to the core network, to implement a connection between theterminal device and the network. For example, the access network is anevolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN). The corenetwork is responsible for connecting the terminal device to differentnetworks based on a call request or a data request sent by the terminaldevice by using the access network, and is responsible for charging,mobility management, and the like. For example, the core network is anevolved packet core (EPC).

The core network mainly includes the following key logical networkelements: a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (S-GW),a packet data network gateway (P-GW), a home subscriber server (HSS),and a policy and charging rules function (PCRF).

In the core network, core network devices may be classified into acontrol plane (CP) network element and a user plane (UP) network elementbased on logical functions of the core network devices. The controlplane network element is a network element responsible for mobilitymanagement or forwarding path management in a mobile network, and may bean MME, an S-GW, or a P-GW, may be an S-GW control plane or a P-GWcontrol plane, or may be a control plane network element formed byintegrating any network elements in an MME, an S-GW, and a P-GW, or acontrol plane network element formed by integrating an S-GW controlplane and a P-GW control plane. The user plane network element is mainlyresponsible for forwarding a service packet of a terminal device, andmay be a physical forwarding plane device such as an S-GW, a P-GW, arouter, a switch, or a software-defined networking (SDN) virtual machine(switch), or may be a virtual forwarding plane network element such asan S-GW forwarding plane or a P-GW forwarding plane.

With development of wireless communications technologies and constantlychanging user requirements, a terminal device type constantly changes,and more applications that meet various user requirements are born.However, services requested by different types of terminal devices orrequested by different applications in a same terminal device havedifferent requirements for a network. For example, a service requestedby an application that provides a real-time video service has arelatively high requirement for service continuity of a network, while aservice requested by an application that provides a common data servicesuch as web browsing almost has no requirement for service continuity ofa network. An existing mobile communications network provides networkswith a same configuration for services requested by all types ofterminal devices and all applications, and consequently, differentservices cannot be processed as required, resulting in relatively poorflexibility of service processing in the mobile communications network.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a network connectionconfiguration method and an apparatus, to resolve a prior-art problemthat different services cannot be processed as required because a mobilecommunications network provides networks with a same configuration forservices requested by all types of terminal devices and allapplications.

Specific technical solutions provided in the present disclosure are asfollows:

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides a network connection configuration method, the method isapplied to a mobile communications network, and the method includes:

after a terminal device obtains network configuration information of anapplication in the terminal device, the terminal device sends thenetwork configuration information to a core network control planenetwork element, so that the core network control plane network elementdetermines a network connection that is of the application and isbetween the terminal device and a data network and that meets thenetwork configuration information, where the network configurationinformation is used to indicate a configuration for the networkconnection, used by the application, between the terminal device and thedata network.

According to the foregoing method, in this embodiment of the presentdisclosure, because the network configuration information can indicatethe configuration that the network connection that is of the applicationand that is between the terminal device and the data network needs tomeet, the mobile communications network can provide networks withdifferent configurations based on requirements of services requested byapplications in different types of terminal devices or requirements ofservices requested by different applications in a same terminal device,so that different services can be processed as required, therebyimproving flexibility of service processing in the mobile communicationsnetwork.

In a possible design, the network configuration information may includebut is not limited to at least one of or a combination of the followingitems: mobility management requirement information, packet transfer modeinformation, quality of service QoS requirement information, networkslice information, and a service type.

According to the foregoing method, the terminal device may obtainnetwork configuration information that includes a plurality of servicerequirements, so that a service can be processed as required, therebyimproving flexibility of service processing in the mobile communicationsnetwork.

In a possible design, the network connection may be a protocol data unitPDU connection, a bearer, or a service flow, where one PDU connectionmay include a plurality of bearers or a plurality of service flows, andone bearer may correspond to a plurality of service flows.

Because different network connections implement different services,according to the foregoing method, after the terminal device sends thenetwork configuration information to the core network control planenetwork element, the core network control plane network element maydetermine the network connection that is of the application and that isbetween the terminal device and the data network, to implement differentservices.

In a possible design, when the terminal device obtains the networkconfiguration information, the terminal device may obtain the networkconfiguration information based on an application identifier of theapplication, or may obtain the network configuration information basedon an application identifier of the application and a type of theterminal device.

According to the foregoing method, the terminal device may accuratelyobtain the network configuration information of the application.

In a possible design, the terminal device may obtain the networkconfiguration information in the following three manners.

In a first manner, the terminal device obtains the network configurationinformation that is locally configured.

In a second manner, the terminal device obtains the networkconfiguration information by using network information configurationsoftware, and the network information configuration software is softwarethat provides the corresponding network configuration information forthe application in the terminal device, for example, a phone manager oran application market.

In a third manner, the terminal device sends a configuration informationrequest to an application server, and receives the network configurationinformation returned by the application server, where the applicationserver is configured to expose business logic to the terminal device byusing various types of protocols.

According to the foregoing method, the terminal device may accuratelyobtain the network configuration information of the application.

In a possible design, after the terminal device obtains the networkconfiguration information, and before the terminal device sends thenetwork configuration information to the core network control planenetwork element, the terminal device verifies (for example, correctnessverification, executability verification, or reasonablenessverification) the network configuration information, and theverification succeeds.

According to the foregoing method, the terminal device can improveaccuracy and executability of the network configuration information fora service requested by the terminal device, thereby ensuring reliabilityof service processing of the terminal device.

In a possible design, when the terminal device sends the networkconfiguration information to the core network control plane networkelement, the terminal device sends, to the core network control planenetwork element, a message carrying the network configurationinformation, where the message includes a service request message, anaccess request message, or a resource modification request message.

According to the foregoing method, the terminal device successfullysends the network configuration information to the core network controlplane network element.

According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosurefurther provides a network connection configuration method, the methodis applied to a mobile communications network, and the method includes:

after receiving network configuration information that is of anapplication and that is sent by a terminal device, a core networkcontrol plane network element determines a network connection that is ofthe application and is between the terminal device and the data networkand that meets the network configuration information, where the networkconfiguration information is used to indicate a configuration for thenetwork connection, used by the application, between the terminal deviceand the data network.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, because the networkconfiguration information can indicate the configuration that thenetwork connection that is of the application and that is between theterminal device and the data network needs to meet, the mobilecommunications network can provide networks with differentconfigurations based on requirements of services requested byapplications in different types of terminal devices or requirements ofservices requested by different applications in a same terminal device,so that different services can be processed as required, therebyimproving flexibility of service processing in the mobile communicationsnetwork.

In a possible design, that the core network control plane networkelement determines a network connection that is of the application andis between the terminal device and the data network and that meets thenetwork configuration information includes the following steps:

determining, by the core network control plane network element in anestablished network connection between the terminal device and the datanetwork, whether there is at least one to-be-selected network connectionthat meets the network configuration information; and

when there is the at least one to-be-selected network connection, using,by the core network control plane network element, one of the at leastone to-be-selected network connection as the network connection; or

when there is no at least one to-be-selected network connection,initiating, by the core network control plane network element, aprocedure of establishing the network connection that meets the networkconfiguration information.

According to the foregoing method, the core network control planenetwork element may determine the network connection that is of theapplication and is between the terminal device and the data network andthat meets the network configuration information.

In a possible design, the network connection may be a protocol data unitPDU connection, a bearer, or a service flow, where one PDU connectionmay include a plurality of bearers or a plurality of service flows, andone bearer may correspond to a plurality of service flows.

Because different network connections implement different services,according to the foregoing method, after the terminal device sends thenetwork configuration information to the core network control planenetwork element, the core network control plane network element maydetermine the network connection that is of the application and that isbetween the terminal device and the data network, to implement differentservices.

In a possible design, when the core network control plane networkelement receives the network configuration information sent by theterminal device, the core network control plane network element receivesa message that is sent by the terminal device and that carries thenetwork configuration information, where the message includes a servicerequest message, an access request message, or a resource modificationrequest message.

According to the foregoing method, the core network control planenetwork element receives the network configuration information sent bythe terminal device.

In a possible design, after the core network control plane networkelement receives the network configuration information, and before thecore network control plane network element determines the networkconnection, the core network control plane network element may verify(for example, correctness verification, executability verification, orreasonableness verification) the network configuration information, andthe verification succeeds.

According to the foregoing method, the core network control planenetwork element can improve accuracy and executability of the networkconfiguration information for a service requested by the terminaldevice, thereby ensuring reliability of service processing of theterminal device.

In a possible design, the network configuration information may includeat least one of or a combination of the following items: mobilitymanagement requirement information, packet transfer mode information,quality of service QoS requirement information, network sliceinformation, and a service type.

According to the foregoing method, the core network control planenetwork element may receive network configuration information thatincludes a plurality of service requirements, to determine the networkconnection that is of the application and is between the terminal deviceand the data network and that meets the network configurationinformation, so that a service can be processed as required, therebyimproving flexibility of service processing in the mobile communicationsnetwork.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosurefurther provides a terminal device. The terminal device has a functionof implementing behavior of the terminal device in the foregoing methodexamples. The function may be implemented by hardware, or may beimplemented by hardware by executing corresponding software. Thehardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to theforegoing function.

In a possible design, a structure of the terminal device includes anobtaining unit and a sending unit, and the units may performcorresponding functions in the foregoing method examples. For details,refer to detailed descriptions in the method examples. Details are notdescribed herein again.

In a possible design, a structure of the terminal device includes atransceiver, a processor, a bus, and a memory, the transceiver isconfigured to perform communication interaction with another device in amobile communications network, and the processor is configured tosupport the terminal device in performing a corresponding function inthe foregoing method. The memory is coupled to the processor, and thememory stores a program instruction and data that are necessary for theterminal device.

According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosurefurther provides a core network control plane network element. The corenetwork control plane network element has a function of implementingbehavior of the core network control plane network element in theforegoing method examples. The function may be implemented by hardware,or may be implemented by hardware by executing corresponding software.The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding tothe foregoing function.

In a possible design, a structure of the core network control planenetwork element includes an obtaining unit and a processing unit, andthe units may perform corresponding functions in the foregoing methodexamples. For details, refer to detailed descriptions in the methodexamples. Details are not described herein again.

In a possible design, a structure of the core network control planenetwork element includes a transceiver, a processor, a bus, and amemory, the transceiver is configured to perform communicationinteraction with another device in a mobile communications network, andthe processor is configured to support the core network control planenetwork element in performing a corresponding function in the foregoingmethod. The memory is coupled to the processor, and the memory stores aprogram instruction and data that are necessary for the core networkcontrol plane network element.

According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosurefurther provides a mobile communications network system, and the mobilecommunications network system includes a terminal device and a corenetwork control plane network element.

According to the network connection configuration method provided in theembodiments of the present disclosure, after the terminal device obtainsthe network configuration information of the application in the terminaldevice, the terminal device sends the network configuration informationto the core network control plane network element, so that the corenetwork control plane network element may determine the networkconnection that is of the application and is between the terminal deviceand the data network and that meets the network configurationinformation. The network configuration information is used to indicatethe configuration that the network connection that is of the applicationand that is between the terminal device and the data network needs tomeet. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, because the networkconfiguration information can indicate the configuration that thenetwork connection that is of the application and that is between theterminal device and the data network needs to meet, the mobilecommunications network can provide networks with differentconfigurations based on requirements of services requested byapplications in different types of terminal devices or requirements ofservices requested by different applications in a same terminal device,so that different services can be processed as required. Therefore,services of different applications in the terminal device are processedas required, thereby improving flexibility of service processing in themobile communications network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mobile communications networkarchitecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another mobile communications networkarchitecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a network connection configuration methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of another network connection configuration methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a specific flowchart of an example of a network connectionconfiguration method according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a networkconnection configuration method according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a core network control planenetwork element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram of a terminal device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is a structural diagram of a core network control plane networkelement according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of thepresent disclosure clearer, the following further describes the presentdisclosure in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.Apparently, the described embodiments are merely some rather than all ofthe embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodimentsobtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on theembodiments of the present disclosure without creative efforts shallfall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a network connectionconfiguration method and an apparatus, to resolve a prior-art problemthat a mobile communications network provides networks with a sameconfiguration for services requested by all types of terminal devicesand all applications, and consequently, different services cannot beprocessed as required, resulting in relatively poor flexibility ofservice processing in the mobile communications network. The method andthe apparatus are based on a same inventive concept. Because aproblem-resolving principle of the method is similar to that of theapparatus, mutual reference may be made between apparatus implementationand method implementation. Repeated parts are not described.

In the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure,after a terminal device obtains network configuration information of anapplication in the terminal device, the terminal device sends thenetwork configuration information to a core network control planenetwork element, so that the core network control plane network elementmay determine a network connection, for use by the application, betweenthe terminal device and a data network such that the network connectionsatisfies the network configuration information. The networkconfiguration information is used to indicate a configuration for thenetwork connection, used by the application, between the terminal deviceand the data network. In the embodiments of the present disclosure,because the network configuration information can indicate theconfiguration that the network connection, used by the application,between the terminal device and the data network, a mobilecommunications network can provide networks with differentconfigurations based on requirements of services requested byapplications in different types of terminal devices or requirements ofservices requested by different applications in a same terminal device,so that different services can be processed as required, therebyimproving flexibility of service processing in the mobile communicationsnetwork.

Some terms in this application are explained below, to help personsskilled in the art have a better understanding.

(1). A core network control plane network element related to theembodiments of the present disclosure is a network element responsiblefor mobility management and/or forwarding path management in a mobilenetwork, and may be but is not limited to an MME, an S-GW, or a P-GW ina core network, may be an S-GW control plane or a P-GW control plane, ormay be a control plane network element formed by integrating any networkelements in an MME, an S-GW, and a P-GW, or a control plane networkelement formed by integrating an S-GW control plane and a P-GW controlplane.

(2). A core network user plane network element, also referred to as acore network forwarding plane network element, related to theembodiments of the present disclosure is a network element responsiblefor providing service packet forwarding for a terminal device, and maybe but is not limited to a physical forwarding plane device such as anS-GW, a P-GW, a router, a switch, or an SDN switch, or may be a virtualforwarding plane network element such as an S-GW forwarding plane or aP-GW forwarding plane.

(3). A data network (DN) related to the embodiments of the presentdisclosure is a network that a terminal device finally needs toestablish a connection to and access, and may be but is not limited to apacket data network (PDN) such as the Internet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), or an IP multimedia service (IMS) network, or a WirelessApplication Protocol (WAP) network provided by an operator.

(4). A base station (BS) related to the embodiments of the presentdisclosure is a device that provides a wireless access service for aterminal device, and includes but is not limited to an evolved NodeB(eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a NodeB (NB), a base stationcontroller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station(for example, Home evolved NodeB or Home NodeB, HNB), a baseband unit(BBU), an access point (AP), a Wireless Fidelity access point (Wi-FiAP), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) BS, andthe like.

(5). A terminal device, also referred to as user equipment (UE), relatedto the present disclosure is a device that provides data connectivityfor a user, for example, a handheld device, an in-vehicle device, awearable device, a computing device, or a mobile station (MS) that has awireless connection function, another processing device connected to awireless modem, or a mobile terminal that communicates with one or morecore networks by using an access network.

(6). An application is a software set for implementing a specificservice, for example, WeChat, Youku, a video website (YouTube), or aphoto sharing application (Snapchat). When enabling an application, aterminal device is connected to a data network by using an accessnetwork and a core network, and finally implements a servicecorresponding to the application.

(7). The term “and/or” describes an association relationship fordescribing associated objects and represents that three relationshipsmay exist. For example, A and/or B may represent the following threecases: Only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. Thecharacter “/” generally indicates an “or” relationship between theassociated objects.

(8). In the descriptions of this application, words such as “first” and“second” are merely used for distinction and description, and shall notbe understood as an indication or implication of relative importance oran indication or implication of an order.

FIG. 1 shows a possible mobile communications network architecture,namely, an evolved packet system (EPS) architecture, to which a networkconnection configuration method is applicable according to an embodimentof the present disclosure. The EPS architecture is divided into twoparts: an access network and a core network. The core network is an EPC.

The access network may be an evolved E-UTRAN, and implements a wirelessaccess-related function for a terminal device. The terminal deviceincludes but is not limited to a device such as an eNodeB, a Wi-Fi AP,or a WiMAX BS.

The EPC mainly includes the following key logical network elements: anMME, an S-GW, a P-GW, an HSS, and a PCRF. The network elements aredescribed in detail below.

The MME mainly completes signaling plane function processing, such asuser authentication, handover, mobility management on a terminal in anidle mode, or user context and bearer management.

The HSS is configured to store subscription information of a user.

The S-GW is used for routing and forwarding of a data network, andprovides a lawful interception-related function.

The P-GW is a gateway connected to an external data network, is a userplane anchor between a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) accessnetwork and a non-3GPP access network, and is responsible for functionssuch as user address allocation, policy control and charging rulesexecution, and lawful interception. The S-GW and the P-GW may bedeployed on a same entity device, or may be separately deployed ondifferent entity devices. This is not limited in this embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

The PCRF provides a policy and charging rule.

When enabling an application, the terminal device may be connected tothe P-GW by using the access network, and create a protocol data unit(PDU) connection by using the P-GW, to access the external data network.

In the mobile communications network architecture shown in FIG. 1 , theterminal device, the access network, the network elements in the EPC,and the DN perform communication interaction with each other by usingcorresponding interfaces.

Based on the EPS architecture shown in FIG. 1 , to reduce hardwareplatform design costs and accelerate mobile packet network deployment,an SDN idea is introduced in a mobile communications network, so thatcontrol and forwarding of a gateway device can be separated. FIG. 2shows another possible mobile communications network architecture. Asshown in the figure, the network architecture includes a core networkcontrol plane network element and a core network user plane networkelement.

The core network control plane network element is a network elementresponsible for mobility management and/or forwarding path management ina mobile communications network, and the core network user plane networkelement is a network element responsible for providing service packetforwarding for a user. Specific functions are not described herein.

A network connection configuration method provided in an embodiment ofthe present disclosure is applicable to the terminal device in themobile communications network shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 . Referring toFIG. 3 , a specific procedure of the method includes the followingsteps.

Step 301: The terminal device obtains network configuration informationof an application in the terminal device, where the networkconfiguration information is used to indicate a configuration for anetwork connection of the application between the terminal device and adata network.

Optionally, the network configuration information may include but is notlimited to at least one of or a combination of the following items:mobility management requirement information, packet transfer modeinformation, quality of service (QoS) requirement information, networkslice information, and a service type.

The mobility management requirement information is used to indicatewhether the network connection needs to provide mobility managementsupport for the application. For example, the mobility managementrequirement information includes: mobility management support isrequired, mobility management support is not required, or whethermobility management support is required is not limited.

The packet transfer mode information is used to indicate a packettransfer mode that the network connection can provide for theapplication. For example, the packet transfer mode information includesa non-IP packet transfer mode (such as a MAC packet transfer mode) or anIP packet transfer mode. Optionally, when the packet transfer modeinformation includes the IP packet transfer mode, the networkconfiguration information may further include a packet type in the IPpacket transfer mode, for example, Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4),Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), or IPv4/v6.

The QoS requirement information is used to indicate a QoS requirementthat the network connection needs to provide for the application. TheQoS requirement information may include a delay requirement, a bandwidthrequirement, a reliability requirement, and the like.

The network slice information is used to indicate whether the networkconnection needs to provide a network slice service for the application.Optionally, when the network slice information indicates that thenetwork connection needs to provide a network slice for the application,the network configuration information may further include an identifierof a network slice required by the application. The network slice may bea mobile broadband (MBB) network slice, a vehicle to vehicle (V2V)network slice, or a machine type communication (MTC) network slice.

The service type is used to indicate a service type that the networkconnection needs to implement for the application. For example, theservice type includes: The application requires the network connectionto provide enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), critical communication(CriC), massive Internet of Things (mloT), or the like.

Optionally, the network connection may be a PDU connection, a bearer, ora service flow. A granularity relationship among the PDU connection, thebearer, and the service flow is: PDU connection>bearer>service flow. Tobe specific, one PDU connection may include a plurality of bearers or aplurality of service flows, and one bearer may correspond to a pluralityof service flows.

Optionally, the terminal device may obtain the network configurationinformation based on an application identifier of the application, ormay obtain the network configuration information based on an applicationidentifier of the application and a type of the terminal device.

Optionally, the terminal device obtains the network configurationinformation in the following three manners.

In a first manner, the terminal device obtains the network configurationinformation that is locally configured on the terminal device.

For example, the terminal device obtains the application identifier ofthe application, and determines, in a locally stored correspondencebetween a plurality of application identifiers and network configurationinformation, the network configuration information corresponding to theapplication identifier of the application.

For another example, the terminal device obtains the applicationidentifier of the application and the type of the terminal device, anddetermines, in a locally stored correspondence between networkconfiguration information and a plurality of application identifiers andterminal device types, the network configuration informationcorresponding to the application identifier of the application and thetype of the terminal device.

In a second manner, the terminal device obtains the networkconfiguration information by using network information configurationsoftware.

The network information configuration software is software that providesthe corresponding network configuration information for the applicationof the terminal device, and may be specifically a phone manager or anapplication market.

For example, the terminal device obtains the application identifier ofthe application, and feeds back the application identifier of theapplication to the network information configuration software. Thenetwork information configuration software configures and generates thecorresponding network configuration information for the application ofthe terminal device, and feeds back the generated network configurationinformation to the terminal device. The network informationconfiguration software may configure and generate the correspondingnetwork configuration information for the application according to anoperator policy.

For another example, the terminal device obtains the applicationidentifier of the application and the type of the terminal device, andfeeds back the application identifier of the application and the type ofthe terminal device to the network information configuration software.The network information configuration software configures and generatesthe corresponding network configuration information for the applicationof the terminal device, and feeds back the generated networkconfiguration information to the terminal device. The networkinformation configuration software may configure and generate thecorresponding network configuration information for the applicationaccording to an operator policy.

For still another example, the terminal device downloads the applicationfrom the network information configuration software (applicationmarket), and obtains the network configuration information of theapplication. The network configuration information may be stored by anapplication developer of the application by using a manifest file whenthe application developer of the application releases the application tothe application market.

Optionally, the network information configuration software verifies thegenerated network configuration information, and feeds back the networkconfiguration information to the terminal device after the verificationsucceeds. That the network information configuration software verifiesthe network configuration information includes: The network informationconfiguration software performs correctness verification, executabilityverification, or reasonableness verification on the networkconfiguration information according to a verification policy of anoperator of the application.

In a third manner, the terminal device sends a configuration informationrequest to an application server, and receives the network configurationinformation returned by the application server.

The application server is configured to expose business logic to theterminal device by using various types of protocols.

Optionally, that the terminal device receives the network configurationinformation returned by the application server includes: The terminaldevice receives a configuration information response that is returned bythe application server and that carries the network configurationinformation.

For example, the terminal device obtains the application identifier ofthe application, and sends the obtained application identifier of theapplication to the application server. The application serverdetermines, based on the application identifier of the application andin a stored correspondence between a plurality of applicationidentifiers and network configuration information, the networkconfiguration information corresponding to the application identifier ofthe application, or configures and generates the corresponding networkconfiguration information for the application based on the applicationidentifier of the application, and sends the determined or generatednetwork configuration information to the terminal device. Optionally,the configuration information request sent by the terminal device to theapplication server may carry the application identifier of theapplication, and the configuration information response sent by theapplication server to the terminal device may carry the networkconfiguration information.

For another example, the terminal device obtains the applicationidentifier of the application and the type of the terminal device, andsends the obtained application identifier of the application and theobtained type of the terminal device to the application server. Theapplication server determines, based on the application identifier ofthe application and the type of the terminal device and in a storedcorrespondence between network configuration information and a pluralityof application identifiers and terminal device types, the networkconfiguration information corresponding to the application identifier ofthe application and the type of the terminal device, or configures andgenerates the corresponding network configuration information for theapplication based on the application identifier of the application andthe type of the terminal device, and sends the determined or generatednetwork configuration information to the terminal device. Optionally,the configuration information request sent by the terminal device to theapplication server may carry the application identifier of theapplication and the type of the terminal device, and the configurationinformation response sent by the application server to the terminaldevice may carry the network configuration information.

Optionally, the application server verifies the determined networkconfiguration information before sending the network configurationinformation to the terminal device, and sends the network configurationinformation to the terminal device after the verification succeeds. Thatthe application server verifies the network configuration informationincludes: The application server performs correctness verification,executability verification, or reasonableness verification on thenetwork configuration information according to a verification policy ofan operator of the application.

In the second and the third manners, the network informationconfiguration software or the application server verifies the determinednetwork configuration information before sending the networkconfiguration information to the terminal device, and sends the networkconfiguration information to the terminal device after determining thatthe verification succeeds. Therefore, accuracy and executability of thenetwork configuration information for a service requested by theterminal device can be improved, thereby ensuring reliability of serviceprocessing of the terminal device.

In the foregoing three manners, the terminal device can accuratelyobtain the network configuration information corresponding to theapplication, so that the mobile communications network can provide anetwork with a corresponding configuration based on a requirement of aservice requested by the application of the terminal device type.

Step 302: The terminal device sends the network configurationinformation to a core network control plane network element.

After the terminal device obtains the network configuration information,and before step 302 is performed, the method further includes: Theterminal device verifies the network configuration information, and theverification succeeds.

The verification performed by the terminal device on the networkconfiguration information includes correctness verification,executability verification, or reasonableness verification performed onspecific information included in the network configuration information.According to the foregoing method, accuracy and executability of thenetwork configuration information for a service requested by theterminal device can be improved, and reliability of service processingof the terminal device can be ensured.

Optionally, when the terminal device performs step 302, the terminaldevice may send, to the core network control plane network element, amessage carrying the network configuration information. The messageincludes a service request message, an access request message, or aresource modification request message.

The access request message is sent by the terminal device to the corenetwork control plane network element in a network registration process.For example, the access request message may be sent by the terminaldevice when the terminal device is powered on. The service requestmessage is a request for establishing a signaling connection for eachinterface of a radio access network, and is used to enable the terminaldevice to be switched from an idle mode to a connected mode. Theresource modification request message is a request actively initiated bythe terminal device when the terminal device has a special servicerequirement.

According to the network connection configuration method in thisembodiment of the present disclosure, after the terminal device obtainsthe network configuration information of the application in the terminaldevice, the terminal device sends the network configuration informationto the core network control plane network element, so that the corenetwork control plane network element may determine the networkconnection, to be used by the application, between the terminal deviceand the data network such that the network connection satisfies thenetwork configuration information. The network configuration informationis used to indicate the configuration for the network connection of theapplication between the terminal device and the data network. In thisembodiment of the present disclosure, because the network configurationinformation can indicate a desired configuration for the networkconnection of the application between the terminal device and the datanetwork, the mobile communications network can provide networks withdifferent configurations based on requirements of services requested byapplications in different types of terminal devices or requirements ofservices requested by different applications in a same terminal device,so that different services can be processed as required, therebyimproving flexibility of service processing in the mobile communicationsnetwork.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides another networkconnection configuration method. The method is applicable to the corenetwork control plane network element in the mobile communicationsnetwork shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 . Referring to FIG. 4 , a specificprocedure of the method includes the following steps.

Step 401: The core network control plane network element receivesnetwork configuration information of an application, which is sent by aterminal device. The network configuration information is used toindicate a desired configuration for a network connection of theapplication between the terminal device and a data network.

Optionally, the network connection may be a protocol data unit PDUconnection, a bearer, or a service flow. A granularity relationshipamong the PDU connection, the bearer, and the service flow is: PDUconnection>bearer>service flow. To be specific, one PDU connection mayinclude a plurality of bearers or a plurality of service flows, and onebearer may correspond to a plurality of service flows.

Optionally, the network configuration information may include but is notlimited to at least one of or a combination of the following items:mobility management requirement information, packet transfer modeinformation, quality of service QoS requirement information, networkslice information, and a service type. Specific examples of the mobilitymanagement requirement information, the packet transfer modeinformation, the quality of service QoS requirement information, thenetwork slice information, and the service type are the same as thosedescribed in step 301 in FIG. 3 . Details are not described hereinagain.

Step 402: The core network control plane network element determines anetwork connection, for the application to use, between the terminaldevice and the data network such that the network connection satisfiesthe network configuration information.

Optionally, that the core network control plane network elementdetermines a network connection of the application between the terminaldevice and the data network such that the network connection meets thenetwork configuration information includes the following steps.

The core network control plane network element determines, in anestablished network connection between the terminal device and the datanetwork, whether there is at least one to-be-selected network connectionthat meets the network configuration information.

When there is the at least one to-be-selected network connection, thecore network control plane network element uses one of the at least oneto-be-selected network connection as the network connection. Forexample, it is assumed that a delay requirement included in networkconfiguration information of a specific application is “less than 50milliseconds”. The terminal device sends the network configurationinformation of the application to the core network control plane networkelement. After receiving the network configuration information sent bythe terminal device, the core network control plane network elementdetermines, in a plurality of established network connections betweenthe terminal device and the data network, that there is a to-be-selectednetwork connection meeting the delay requirement “less than 50milliseconds”, and the core network control plane network element usesthe to-be-selected network connection as the network connection.

When there is no at least one to-be-selected network connection, thecore network control plane network element initiates a procedure ofestablishing the network connection that meets the network configurationinformation. For example, the procedure of establishing the networkconnection that meets the network configuration information is initiatedby using the following steps a to f:

a. The core network control plane network element determines a corenetwork user plane network element that is suitable for serving theterminal device, where the core network user plane network element canprovide a configuration of the network configuration information for theapplication of the terminal device.

b. The core network control plane network element sends a packetforwarding policy to the core network user plane network element, sothat the core network user plane network element performs forwardingprocessing on a packet of the terminal device according to the packetforwarding policy.

c. The core network control plane network element sends a context setuprequest to a base station that provides a wireless access service forthe terminal device, to create a forwarding path between the basestation and the core network user plane network element.

d. The base station initiates a procedure of establishing a radioresource configuration between the base station and the terminal device.

e. The base station sends a context setup response to the core networkcontrol plane network element.

f. The terminal device sends a direct transfer message to the corenetwork control plane network element by using the base station, toindicate that the network connection is successfully established.

Optionally, after receiving the context setup response and the directtransfer message, the core network control plane network element sends apacket forwarding policy update message to the core network user planenetwork element, to update the packet forwarding policy on the corenetwork user plane network element.

Optionally, the core network control plane network element receives amessage that is sent by the terminal device and that carries the networkconfiguration information. The message includes a service requestmessage, an access request message, or a resource modification requestmessage. The access request message is sent by the terminal device tothe core network control plane network element in a network registrationprocess. For example, the access request message may be sent by theterminal device when the terminal device is powered on. The servicerequest message is a request for establishing a signaling connection foreach interface of a radio access network, and is used to enable theterminal device to be switched from an idle mode to a connected mode.The resource modification request message is a request activelyinitiated by the terminal device when the terminal device has a specialservice requirement.

The network connection that is of the application and is between theterminal device and the data network and that meets the networkconfiguration information may be established by initiating the foregoingprocedure.

Optionally, after the core network control plane network elementreceives the network configuration information, before step 402 isperformed, the method further includes: The core network control planenetwork element verifies the network configuration information, and theverification succeeds. That the core network control plane networkelement verifies the network configuration information includes: Thecore network control plane network element performs correctnessverification, executability verification, or reasonableness verificationon the network configuration information according to a verificationpolicy of an operator of the application.

According to the network connection configuration method in thisembodiment of the present disclosure, after the terminal device sendsthe network configuration information of the application to the corenetwork control plane network element, the core network control planenetwork element receives the network configuration information that isof the application and that is sent by the terminal device, and then thecore network control plane network element may determine the networkconnection that is of the application and is between the terminal deviceand the data network and that meets the network configurationinformation. The network configuration information is used to indicatethe configuration that the network connection that is of the applicationand that is between the terminal device and the data network needs tomeet. In this embodiment of the present disclosure, because the networkconfiguration information can indicate a desired configuration for thenetwork connection of the application between the terminal device andthe data network, the mobile communications network can provide networkswith different configurations based on requirements of servicesrequested by all applications in different types of terminal devices orrequirements of services requested by different applications in a sameterminal device, so that different services can be processed asrequired, thereby improving flexibility of service processing in themobile communications network.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, an embodiment of the presentdisclosure further provides an example of a network connectionconfiguration method. The example may be applied to the terminal devicein the mobile communications network shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 . Thisembodiment is described by using a PDU connection as an example of anetwork connection. Optionally, the network connection may alternativelybe a bearer or a service flow between the terminal device and a datanetwork. Referring to FIG. 5 , a specific procedure of the exampleincludes the following steps.

Step 501: The terminal device obtains network configuration informationof an application (for example, an application of a video call service).For example, a delay requirement included in the network configurationinformation is “less than 50 milliseconds”.

Optionally, the terminal device may obtain the network configurationinformation in the three manners described in step 301 in FIG. 3 , anddetails are not described herein again.

Step 502: The terminal device verifies the network configurationinformation, where the verification performed by the terminal device onthe network configuration information includes correctness verification,executability verification, or reasonableness verification on specificinformation included in the network configuration information.

Step 503: After verification performed on the network configurationinformation by the terminal device succeeds, the terminal device sendsthe network configuration information to a core network control planenetwork element.

It should be noted that step 502 is an optional step. When step 502 isnot performed, in step 503, the terminal device may directly send thenetwork configuration information to the core network control planenetwork element.

Step 504: After receiving the network configuration information sent bythe terminal device, the core network control plane network elementdetermines, in an established PDU connection between the terminal deviceand a data network, whether there is a PDU connection meeting thenetwork configuration information (such as a delay requirement “lessthan 50 milliseconds”), and directly performs step 507 when determiningthat there is the PDU connection meeting the network configurationinformation, or performs step 505 when determining that there is no PDUconnection meeting the delay requirement “less than 50 milliseconds”.

Step 505: When determining that there is no PDU connection meeting thenetwork configuration information, the terminal device initiates aprocedure of establishing the PDU connection meeting the networkconfiguration information.

Step 506: A base station, the core network control plane networkelement, and a core network user plane network element performcommunication interaction with each other, to execute the procedure ofestablishing the PDU connection meeting the network configurationinformation.

Step 507: The terminal device accesses the data network based on the PDUconnection meeting the network configuration information.

Based on the foregoing example, according to the network connectionconfiguration method provided in this embodiment of the presentdisclosure, after obtaining the delay requirement “less than 50milliseconds” corresponding to the video call application, the terminaldevice sends the delay requirement “less than 50 milliseconds” to thecore network control plane network element, so that the core networkcontrol plane network element may determine the PDU connection that isof the application and is between the terminal device and the datanetwork and that meets the delay requirement “less than 50milliseconds”. In this way, the mobile communications network canprocess a service of the application in the terminal device as requiredbased on a requirement of the service requested by the application inthe terminal device, to improve flexibility of service processing in themobile communications network.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, an embodiment of the presentdisclosure further provides an application scenario of a networkconnection configuration method. As shown in FIG. 6 , the applicationscenario includes UE, a CP, a UP 1, and a UP 2. Applications in theterminal device may include an application (APP) 1 and an APP 2.

After obtaining network configuration information (to be specific, adelay needs to be less than 50 milliseconds) of the APP 1, the UE sendsthe network configuration information of the APP 1 to the CP. The CPdetermines that there is no PDU connection meeting a condition,initiates a procedure of establishing a new PDU connection for the UE,and selects the UP 1 to serve the APP 1 of the UE. A service of the APP1 of the UE accesses a data network by establishing a PDU connection 1.

After obtaining network configuration information (to be specific, adelay needs to be less than 100 milliseconds) of the APP 2, the UE sendsthe network configuration information of the APP 2 to the CP. The CPdetermines that there is a PDU connection 2 meeting a condition. Asshown in the figure, a service of the APP 2 of the UE accesses the datanetwork by using the PDU connection 2 meeting the condition.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, an embodiment of the presentdisclosure further provides a terminal device. The terminal device isapplied to the mobile communications network shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 ,and is configured to implement the network connection configurationmethod shown in FIG. 3 . Referring to FIG. 7 , a terminal device 700includes an obtaining unit 701 and a sending unit 702.

The obtaining unit 701 is configured to obtain network configurationinformation of an application in the terminal device 700, and thenetwork configuration information is used to indicate a desiredconfiguration for a network connection of the application between theterminal device 700 and a data network.

The sending unit 702 is configured to send the network configurationinformation to a core network control plane network element.

Optionally, the network connection is a protocol data unit PDUconnection, a bearer, or a service flow.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 701 is specifically configured to:

obtain the network configuration information that is locally configured;or

obtain the network configuration information by using networkinformation configuration software; or

the sending unit 702 is further configured to send a configurationinformation request to an application server, and the obtaining unit 701is specifically configured to receive the network configurationinformation returned by the application server.

Optionally, the terminal device 700 further includes:

a verification unit, configured to verify the network configurationinformation after the obtaining unit 701 obtains the networkconfiguration information and before the sending unit 702 sends thenetwork configuration information to the core network control planenetwork element.

Optionally, the network configuration information includes at least oneof or a combination of the following items: mobility managementrequirement information, packet transfer mode information, quality ofservice QoS requirement information, network slice information, and aservice type.

Optionally, the sending unit 702 is specifically configured to:

send, to the core network control plane network element, the messagecarrying the network configuration information, where the messageincludes a service request message, an access request message, or aresource modification request message.

In the terminal device provided in this embodiment of the presentdisclosure, after the terminal device obtains the network configurationinformation of the application in the terminal device, the terminaldevice sends the network configuration information to the core networkcontrol plane network element, so that the core network control planenetwork element may determine a network connection of the applicationbetween the terminal device and the data network such the networkconnection satisfies the network configuration information. The networkconfiguration information is used to indicate a desired configurationfor the network connection, for use by the application, between theterminal device and the data network. In this embodiment of the presentdisclosure, because the network configuration information can indicatethe configuration that the network connection that is of the applicationand that is between the terminal device and the data network needs tomeet, the mobile communications network can provide networks withdifferent configurations based on requirements of services requested byapplications in different types of terminal devices or requirements ofservices requested by different applications in a same terminal device,so that different services can be processed as required, therebyimproving flexibility of service processing in the mobile communicationsnetwork.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, an embodiment of the presentdisclosure further provides a core network control plane networkelement. The core network control plane network element is applied tothe mobile communications network shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 , and isconfigured to implement the network connection configuration methodshown in FIG. 4 . Referring to FIG. 8 , a core network control planenetwork element 800 includes an obtaining unit 801 and a processing unit802.

The obtaining unit 801 is configured to receive network configurationinformation of an application, which is sent by a terminal device, andthe network configuration information is used to indicate aconfiguration that a network connection that is of the application andthat is between the terminal device and a data network needs to meet.

The processing unit 802 is configured to determine a network connectionthat is of the application and is between the terminal device and thedata network and that meets the network configuration information.

Optionally, the processing unit 802 is specifically configured to:

determine, in an established network connection between the terminaldevice and the data network, whether there is at least oneto-be-selected network connection that meets the network configurationinformation; and

when there is the at least one to-be-selected network connection, useone of the at least one to-be-selected network connection as the networkconnection; or

when there is no at least one to-be-selected network connection,initiate a procedure of establishing the network connection that meetsthe network configuration information.

Optionally, the network connection is a protocol data unit PDUconnection, a bearer, or a service flow.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 801 is specifically configured to:

receive a message that is sent by the terminal device and that carriesthe network configuration information, where the message includes aservice request message, an access request message, or a resourcemodification request message.

Optionally, the core network control plane network element 800 furtherincludes:

a verification unit, configured to verify the network configurationinformation after the obtaining unit 801 receives the networkconfiguration information and before the processing unit 802 determinesthe network connection.

Optionally, the network configuration information includes at least oneof or a combination of the following items: mobility managementrequirement information, packet transfer mode information, quality ofservice QoS requirement information, network slice information, and aservice type.

In the core network control plane network element provided in thisembodiment of the present disclosure, the core network control planenetwork element receives the network configuration information that isof the application and that is sent by the terminal device, and then thecore network control plane network element may determine the networkconnection that is of the application and is between the terminal deviceand the data network and that meets the network configurationinformation. The network configuration information is used to indicate adesired configuration for the network connection the application betweenthe terminal device and the data network. In this embodiment of thepresent disclosure, because the network configuration information canindicate the configuration that the network connection that is of theapplication and that is between the terminal device and the data networkneeds to meet, the mobile communications network can provide networkswith different configurations based on requirements of servicesrequested by all applications in different types of terminal devices orrequirements of services requested by different applications in a sameterminal device, so that different services can be processed asrequired, thereby improving flexibility of service processing in themobile communications network.

It should be noted that unit division in the embodiments of the presentdisclosure is an example, and is merely logical function division. Theremay be another division manner in actual implementation. Functionalunits in the embodiments of this application may be integrated into oneprocessing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or twoor more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit may beimplemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of asoftware functional unit.

When the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a softwarefunctional unit and sold or used as an independent product, theintegrated unit may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of thisapplication essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, orall or some of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form ofa software product. The computer software product is stored in a storagemedium and includes several instructions for instructing a computerdevice (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device)or a processor to perform all or some of the steps of the methodsdescribed in the embodiments of this application. The foregoing storagemedium includes any medium that can store program code, such as a USBflash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a randomaccess memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, an embodiment of the presentdisclosure further provides a terminal device. The terminal device isapplied to the mobile communications network shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 .The mobile communications network further includes a core networkcontrol plane network element. Referring to FIG. 9 , a terminal device900 includes a transceiver 901, a processor 902, a bus 903, and a memory904.

The transceiver 901, the processor 902, and the memory 904 are connectedto each other by using the bus 903. The bus 903 may be a PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended Industry StandardArchitecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus may be classified into anaddress bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease ofrepresentation, only one thick line is used to represent the bus in FIG.9 , but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one typeof bus.

The transceiver 901 is configured to perform communication interactionwith another device connected to the terminal device 900 in the mobilecommunications network.

The processor 902 is configured to implement the network connectionconfiguration method shown in FIG. 3 , including:

obtaining network configuration information of an application in theterminal device 900, where the network configuration information is usedto indicate a configuration that a network connection that is of theapplication and that is between the terminal device 900 and a datanetwork needs to meet; and sending the network configuration informationto the core network control plane network element.

Optionally, the network connection is a protocol data unit PDUconnection, a bearer, or a service flow.

Optionally, when obtaining the network configuration information of theapplication in the terminal device 900, the processor 902 isspecifically configured to:

obtain the network configuration information that is locally configured;or

obtain the network configuration information by using networkinformation configuration software; or

send a configuration information request to an application server, andreceive the network configuration information returned by theapplication server.

Optionally, the processor 902 is further configured to:

verify the network configuration information after obtaining the networkconfiguration information and before sending the network configurationinformation to the core network control plane network element.

Optionally, the network configuration information includes at least oneof or a combination of the following items: mobility managementrequirement information, packet transfer mode information, quality ofservice QoS requirement information, network slice information, and aservice type.

Optionally, the processor 902 is specifically configured to:

send, to the core network control plane network element, the messagecarrying the network configuration information, where the messageincludes a service request message, an access request message, or aresource modification request message.

The memory 904 is configured to store a program and the like.Specifically, the program may include program code, and the program codeincludes a computer operation instruction. The memory 904 may include aRAM, and may further include a non-volatile memory such as at least onemagnetic disk memory. The processor 902 executes the application programstored in the memory 904, to implement the foregoing function, so as toimplement the network connection configuration method shown in FIG. 3 .

In the terminal device provided in this embodiment of the presentdisclosure, after the terminal device obtains the network configurationinformation of the application in the terminal device, the terminaldevice sends the network configuration information to the core networkcontrol plane network element, so that the core network control planenetwork element may determine a network connection, for the applicationto use, between the terminal device such that the network connectionsatisfies the network configuration information. The networkconfiguration information is used to indicate the configuration adesired network connection of the application between the terminaldevice and the data. In this embodiment of the present disclosure,because the network configuration information can indicate theconfiguration that the network connection that is of the application andthat is between the terminal device and the data network needs to meet,the mobile communications network can provide networks with differentconfigurations based on requirements of services requested byapplications in different types of terminal devices or requirements ofservices requested by different applications in a same terminal device,so that different services can be processed as required, therebyimproving flexibility of service processing in the mobile communicationsnetwork.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, an embodiment of the presentdisclosure further provides a core network control plane networkelement. The core network control plane network element is applied tothe mobile communications network shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 . The mobilecommunications network includes a terminal device. Referring to FIG. 10, a core network control plane network element 1000 includes atransceiver 1001, a processor 1002, a bus 1003, and a memory 1004.

The transceiver 1001, the processor 1002, and the memory 1004 areconnected to each other by using the bus 1003. The bus 1003 may be a PCIbus, an EISA bus, or the like. The bus may be classified into an addressbus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease ofrepresentation, only one thick line is used to represent the bus in FIG.10 , but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one typeof bus.

The transceiver 1001 is configured to perform communication interactionwith another device connected to the core network control plane networkelement 1000 in the mobile communications network.

The processor 1002 is configured to implement the network connectionconfiguration method shown in FIG. 4 , including:

receiving network configuration information that is of an applicationand that is sent by the terminal device, where the network configurationinformation is used to indicate a configuration that a networkconnection that is of the application and that is between the terminaldevice and a data network needs to meet; and determining a networkconnection that is of the application and is between the terminal deviceand the data network and that meets the network configurationinformation.

Optionally, the processor 1002 is specifically configured to:

determine, in an established network connection between the terminaldevice and the data network, whether there is at least oneto-be-selected network connection that meets the network configurationinformation; and

when there is the at least one to-be-selected network connection, useone of the at least one to-be-selected network connection as the networkconnection; or

when there is no at least one to-be-selected network connection,initiate a procedure of establishing the network connection that meetsthe network configuration information.

Optionally, the network connection is a protocol data unit PDUconnection, a bearer, or a service flow.

Optionally, the processor 1002 is specifically configured to:

receive a message that is sent by the terminal device and that carriesthe network configuration information, where the message includes aservice request message, an access request message, or a resourcemodification request message.

Optionally, the processor 1002 is further configured to:

verify the network configuration information after receiving the networkconfiguration information and before determining the network connection.

Optionally, the network configuration information includes at least oneof or a combination of the following items: mobility managementrequirement information, packet transfer mode information, quality ofservice QoS requirement information, network slice information, and aservice type.

The memory 1004 is configured to store a program and the like.Specifically, the program may include program code, and the program codeincludes a computer operation instruction. The memory 1004 may include aRAM, and may further include a non-volatile memory such as at least onemagnetic disk memory. The processor 1002 executes the applicationprogram stored in the memory 1004, to implement the foregoing function,so as to implement the network connection configuration method shown inFIG. 4 .

In the core network control plane network element provided in thisembodiment of the present disclosure, the core network control planenetwork element receives the network configuration information that isof the application and that is sent by the terminal device, and then thecore network control plane network element may determine the networkconnection that is of the application and is between the terminal deviceand the data network and that meets the network configurationinformation. The network configuration information is used to indicatethe configuration that the network connection that is of the applicationand that is between the terminal device and the data network needs tomeet. In this embodiment of the present disclosure, because the networkconfiguration information can indicate the configuration that thenetwork connection that is of the application and that is between theterminal device and the data network needs to meet, the mobilecommunications network can provide networks with differentconfigurations based on requirements of services requested by allapplications in different types of terminal devices or requirements ofservices requested by different applications in a same terminal device,so that different services can be processed as required, therebyimproving flexibility of service processing in the mobile communicationsnetwork.

In conclusion, according to the network connection configuration methodand the apparatus that are provided in the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, after the terminal device obtains the network configurationinformation of the application in the terminal device, the terminaldevice sends the network configuration information to the core networkcontrol plane network element, so that the core network control planenetwork element may determine the network connection that is of theapplication and is between the terminal device and the data network andthat meets the network configuration information. The networkconfiguration information is used to indicate the configuration that thenetwork connection that is of the application and that is between theterminal device and the data network needs to meet. In the embodimentsof the present disclosure, because the network configuration informationcan indicate the configuration that the network connection that is ofthe application and that is between the terminal device and the datanetwork needs to meet, the mobile communications network can providenetworks with different configurations based on requirements of servicesrequested by applications in different types of terminal devices orrequirements of services requested by different applications in a sameterminal device, so that different services can be processed asrequired. Therefore, services of different applications in the terminaldevice are processed as required, thereby improving flexibility ofservice processing in the mobile communications network.

Persons skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be provided as a method, a system, or a computerprogram product. Therefore, the present disclosure may use a form ofhardware only embodiments, software only embodiments, or embodimentswith a combination of software and hardware. Moreover, the presentdisclosure may use a form of a computer program product that isimplemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including butnot limited to a disk memory, a CD-ROM, an optical memory, and the like)that include computer-usable program code.

The present disclosure is described with reference to the flowchartsand/or block diagrams of the method, the device (system), and thecomputer program product according to the embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It should be understood that computer program instructionsmay be used to implement each process and/or each block in theflowcharts and/or the block diagrams and a combination of a processand/or a block in the flowcharts and/or the block diagrams. Thesecomputer program instructions may be provided for a general-purposecomputer, a dedicated computer, an embedded processor, or a processor ofanother programmable data processing device to generate a machine, sothat the instructions executed by the computer or the processor of theanother programmable data processing device generate an apparatus forimplementing a specific function in one or more processes in theflowcharts and/or in one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may be stored in a computer readablememory that can instruct the computer or the another programmable dataprocessing device to work in a specific manner, so that the instructionsstored in the computer readable memory generate an artifact thatincludes an instruction apparatus. The instruction apparatus implementsa specific function in one or more processes in the flowcharts and/or inone or more blocks in the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may be loaded onto the computer orthe another programmable data processing device, so that a series ofoperations and steps are performed on the computer or the anotherprogrammable device, thereby generating computer-implemented processing.Therefore, the instructions executed on the computer or the anotherprogrammable device provide steps for implementing a specific functionin one or more processes in the flowcharts and/or in one or more blocksin the block diagrams.

Although some embodiments of the present disclosure have been described,persons skilled in the art can make changes and modifications to theseembodiments once they learn the basic inventive concept. Therefore, thefollowing claims are intended to be construed as to cover the preferredembodiments and all changes and modifications falling within the scopeof the present disclosure.

Obviously, persons skilled in the art can make various modifications andvariations to the embodiments of the present disclosure withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The present disclosure is intended to cover thesemodifications and variations provided that they fall within the scope ofprotection defined by the following claims and their equivalenttechnologies.

What is claimed is:
 1. A network connection configuration method,comprising: sending, by a terminal device, a request to an applicationserver; receiving, by the terminal device, network configurationinformation of an application from the application server, wherein thenetwork configuration information indicates a desired configuration fora network connection of the application between the terminal device anda data network, and the network configuration information includesnetwork slice information; and sending, by the terminal device, thenetwork configuration information to a core network control planenetwork element, wherein the core network control plane network elementis separate from the application server.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the network connection is a protocol data unit (PDU)connection.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the networkconnection is a bearer or a service flow.
 4. The method according toclaim 1, further comprising: verifying the network configurationinformation.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the networkconfiguration information further includes at least one of: mobilitymanagement requirement information, packet transfer mode information,quality of service (QoS) requirement information, or a service type. 6.The method according to claim 1, wherein sending the networkconfiguration information comprises: sending, by the terminal device tothe core network control plane network element, a message carrying thenetwork configuration information, wherein the message includes any of aservice request message, an access request message, or a resourcemodification request message.
 7. The method according to claim 1,further comprising: initiating, by the terminal device, a procedure ofestablishing a network connection of the application between theterminal device and the data network meeting the network configurationinformation when determining there is no connection meeting arequirement associated with the network configuration information.
 8. Anapparatus, comprising: an interface; a processor; and a memoryconfigured to store computer readable instructions that, when executedby the processor, cause the apparatus to: send, through the interface, arequest to an application server; receive, through the interface,network configuration information of an application from the applicationserver, wherein the network configuration information indicates adesired configuration for a network connection of the applicationbetween a terminal device and a data network, and the networkconfiguration information includes network slice information; and send,through the interface, the network configuration information to a corenetwork control plane network element, wherein the core network controlplane network element is separate from the application server.
 9. Theapparatus according to claim 8, wherein the network connection is aprotocol data unit (PDU) connection, a bearer, or a service flow. 10.The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the apparatus is furthercaused to: verify the network configuration information after thenetwork configuration information is received and before the networkconfiguration information is sent to the core network control planenetwork element.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein thenetwork configuration information further includes at least one of:mobility management requirement information, packet transfer modeinformation, quality of service (QoS) requirement information, or aservice type.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein theapparatus is further caused to: send, using the interface, to the corenetwork control plane network element, a message carrying the networkconfiguration information, wherein the message includes a servicerequest message, an access request message, or a resource modificationrequest message.
 13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring computer readable instructions that, when executed by one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to provide executioncomprising: sending a request to an application server; receivingnetwork configuration information of an application from the applicationserver, wherein the network configuration information indicates adesired configuration for a network connection of the applicationbetween a terminal device and a data network, and the networkconfiguration information includes network slice information; andsending the network configuration information to a core network controlplane network element, wherein the core network control plane networkelement is separate from the application server.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein thenetwork connection is a protocol data unit (PDU) connection.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13,wherein the one or more processors are further caused to provideexecution comprising verifying the network configuration informationafter the network configuration information is received and before thenetwork configuration information is sent to the core network controlplane network element.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium according to claim 13, wherein the network configurationinformation further includes at least one of: mobility managementrequirement information, packet transfer mode information, quality ofservice (QoS) requirement information, or a service type.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13,wherein the one or more processors are further caused to provideexecution comprising sending, to the core network control plane networkelement, a message carrying the network configuration information,wherein the message includes a service request message, an accessrequest message, or a resource modification request message.
 18. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the core network control planenetwork element selects a first network connection when a firstcondition is satisfied in association with the network configurationinformation, and the core network control plane network element selectsa second network connection when a second condition is satisfied inassociation with the network configuration information.
 19. Theapparatus according to claim 8, wherein the core network control planenetwork element selects a first network connection when a firstcondition is satisfied in association with the network configurationinformation, and the core network control plane network element selectsa second network connection when a second condition is satisfied inassociation with the network configuration information.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13,wherein the core network control plane network element selects a firstnetwork connection when a first condition is satisfied in associationwith the network configuration information, and the core network controlplane network element selects a second network connection when a secondcondition is satisfied in association with the network configurationinformation.